Just to add a little to the ongoing debate about the merits of the various airports on this island, the following random check today is typical of where the Belfast airports find themselves relative to Dublin.
Hypothetical trip to the US in March/April 2016, using two options - the first starting in DUB, the second in BHD. Source is Expedia.co.uk, and is based simply on 1 pax travelling. Ireland-UK/trans-Atlantic flights are with BA using AA flight codes, and all internal flights are with AA in order to maximise savings.
1. DUB-SFO (via LHR)
2. SFO-LAS (via LAX)
3. LAS-DFW
4. DFW-IAD
5. IAD-DUB (via LHR)
Price
£749
But start and end instead at BHD, using exactly the same flights everywhere else, and the price rockets by
£406 to a whopping
£1155 !!!!!
Now don't tell me that it's better to support my local airports if I want to be able to see BFS/BHD grow and prosper. I'm sorry, but at a premium of £406 per person, that's a luxury I can't afford. I know I've got to get to Dublin and back to North Down, but that's a cinch these days and I don't even consider it an inconvenience any longer.
If I was in a position to actually do this trip (if only !!) I know where I'd be heading .....
